Pizzica is a small pizza shop in Budapest specializing in pizza al taglio — the Roman invention where rectangular-shaped slices are cut with a scissor and usually taken to-go. The de Bartolomeo brothers, natives from Southern Italy, run this tiny takeout joint in District 6; on most days you'll find them sliding cast-iron pans in and out of an electric oven.

Pizzica uses a moist, high-gluten dough, which, after a long fermentation, rises into a chewy, focaccia-like texture interspersed with air pockets and boasting a crispy crust and charred underbelly. Naturally, the best slices are the ones listed as “premium.” The ever-changing toppings might include a tomato sauce, mortadella, arugula, or a sausage, mushroom, truffle version. They go for €1.5 apiece, and two or three slices are perfectly enough.

There’s a wooden bench outside Pizzica and a few tables upstairs where contemporary Hungarian artworks adorn the walls, but most people usually just eat their pizzas on the street in Roman fashion. A word to the wise: Pizzica stays open until 3 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, in case you need to devour some tasty carbs after a long night.
